New Country, New School, New Gender!
by MakePaaastaNotWar
Summary: Taylor just moved from the U.S.A. to Japan and hates it, especially the uniforms at her new school, Seiyo Academy. She plans on masqurading as a boy, but when happens when she falls for Nagihiko? And why's Ikuto following her? Rated T, just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, everyone. Not sure what to say here….Also, sorry if it's kind of short—it was originally for a different website that has small limits as to how long stories can be, so I actually had to post this in parts there. If it's too short, just tell me and I can combine future chapters. Eventually, they will get longer. So, enjoy!**

O n e;

I truly think my parents hate me.

No, they didn't ground me because I got an F on my math test. That I understand. That's reasonable. That's what I wish the worst of my problems were. No, with barely a month's notice, they decided we were going to move. To Japan.

Yeah, the one in Asia. Not Japan, Texas, or whatever, the actual country. One morning at breakfast, my mom just goes, "Honey, your dad got a new job, in Japan. We're going to move on the twenty first."

As you may have guessed, I was not happy. I was even contemplating chaining myself to a tree in the back yard. "HA!" I would have shouted, "You can't make me move, now!" But, I was worried they actually would go without me.

So, instead, I argued at every possible moment, hoping to make them change their minds. My dad always said the same thing. "With the economy these days, jobs are scarce. We take what we get. Would you rather live in a nice, comfortable home in Japan or a box in New York?" (I said the box, but he still didn't change his mind.)

Once we got to our new house, though, my worries started to melt away, one by one. I had gotten pretty good at my Japanese, enough to introduce myself, understand the teacher, and possible make friends. Our new house was pretty nice, although I couldn't understand a lot of the TV, so I read. Things got worse again, though, when my mom showed me my school uniform.

You see, in Japan, all schools, even public, have uniforms. And for some reason, my mother made a mistake on the application, because the uniform I received was most clearly intended for boys. She must have checked the wrong box, getting the kanji for "male" and "female "confused. The administrators wouldn't have even noticed the difference either, since they'd have no way of knowing the difference between male and female American names. Even if they did, I was blessed with the androgynous name of Taylor.

Apparently, my school was called Seiyo Elementary—in Japan, sixth grade is still elementary school. The uniform I got consisted of plaid blue shorts, a black blazer, a blue tie, and knee-length socks. A bit masculine for a girl's uniform.

I could automatically tell it was not the right one, because female uniforms almost always consisted of a skirt of some sort. However, I didn't want to exchange it, either—I was not a fan of skirts and getting out of wearing one daily wasn't something I would complain about. I could pull off acting like a boy at school, right? I was a bit of a tomboy anyway, shouldn't be too difficult.

And that is why, on my first day of school in Japan, I wore the male uniform. I hated to admit it, but with my short brown hair (I normally wore it in a chic, more femenine way, but that day I let it hang all shaggy) and premature sixth-grade body, I really did look like a boy. Should I be insulted?

I was in the star class and my teacher's name, according to the information sheets I received, was Yuu Nikiadou. Err, in Japan, last names are first. Nikiadou Yuu. Sensei. I should practice my honorifics.

At first, I thought I was late, since it took me a while to translate all the classroom signs, but when I finally found the right room, Nikiadou-sensei wasn't even there yet. I stood awkwardly by the door until a man with messy orange hair, glasses, and a grubby tan suit appeared. One of the girls in the back giggled something in Japanese, which I soon translated to, "Sensei! You're late!"

"Gomen," He apologized. "Um, is McCarthy Taylor-kun here?"

"Hai!" I pipped up.

"Ah, yes, our new transfer student from America. Please introduce yourself, if you don't mind."

I nodded. Time to test my Japanese. I thought a moment, double checking my mental dictionary that "Boku" was a maculine way to say "I" or "me". It wasn't what I had planned to use before I saw my uniform and I just wanted to make sure it was right. "Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu" is like "nice to meet you". I slowly stuttered, "K-k-konichiwa. Boku wa McCarthy Taylor da. Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu." I bowed slightly. The words didn't sound right on my tongue. They were foreign and strange—like me.

"Please take your seat next to Hinamori Amu-san. Over there." I peered around until I found where Nikiadou-sensei's finger was aimed. The girl who I presumed to be Hinamori Amu-san had funky pink hair, wore her blazer open and her tie loose. She had a red piece of cloth safety-pinned in a band around her arm and a black studded belt on her waist. Instead of traditional white socks, she had red plaid legwarmers. Not 80's-style legwarmers, but the cool kind. _Whoa,_ I thought. _She's so cool!_

I slowly sat down and muttered, "Hey."

She smiled a big smile that totally didn't fit the personality I expected her to have. It looked kind of fake, like that of someone who's shy trying to be more outgoing. "N-nice to meet you."

I smiled, but blanked out and couldn't remember any kind of response. I looked up to the front of the room; I had to concentrate on what Sensei was saying more than anyone else since I barely understood the language. This was going to be a long year.

**A/N: Not too terrible, eh? Review, s'il-vous-plait! **


	2. Chapter Tree

**A/N: Here are chapters two and three, but I combined them, so it'd be longer, into an awesome hybrid chapter I like to call chapter tree! Gaaah, enjoy!**

T r e e;

At lunch break, I was on my way to the school's front yard when I was stopped right outside the classroom by three people. One was Hinamori Amu-san, the girl I sat next to. The next had long wavy blonde hair with a thin black headband in it. She wore white tights instead of socks. She also had a weird red plaid cape-ish shaul-ish thing around her shoulders. Mashiro Rima-san, I think her name was.

Finally, Hotori Tadase-kun stood beside them. I only knew him because I had heard multiple girls squealing, "Tadase-sama!" Sama, I knew, is the ending for someone superior to the speaker. I didn't really get why they used that on him, so I just stuck with kun, a more standard honorific. Anyway, I could kind of understand why they liked him. His blonde hair framed his face perfectly and his eyes were a sort of pinkish-red, but not in an evil way. In a cute way. He was very princely. He, like Rima-san, wore a cape, only his was blue plaid.

"Hi, McCarthy-kun," Tadase-kun started.

"Hi."

He started talking again, but I wasn't really listening. Now, don't go thinking I was lost in his eyes. I'm not that kind of girl. Puh-shaw. I was lost in the eyes of the guy behind him, on the other side of the hall. Duh.

At least, if you can be lost in half an eye. 'Cause that's all I could see. He was standing sideways, talking to someone, but that half a golden brown eye was beautiful. He also had long, purplish black hair. Not just long for a guy, but it would've been long on a girl too. It went about mid-thigh, yet he didn't look girly at all. He wore a cape identical to Tadase-kun's.

Now, I should have paid better attention to Tadase-kun, 'cause I was only half-listening and therefore couldn't really translate what he said. I got something like " . . . new student…America . . . you . . . us… adjust…any questions…Royal Garden?"

I panicked, what did he ask? Not really sure what I was agreeing to, I nodded quickly.

When Amu-san replied, I paid better attention and understood that she had said, "Great! The Royal Garden is the big glass building in the front of the school. You probably saw it on your way in." Oh, so that's what that was. I thought it was a special teacher's room. I guess I was meeting them in there. Hotori-kun had said something about adjusting to Japan…maybe they were going to help me get used to it here, since I come from so far away. At least, I hoped so. What if it was a special teacher's room and we were vandalizing it? No, Tadase-kun didn't look like that kind of person. Although Amu-san . . . .

**[P A G E B R E A K]**

After school, I hesitantly ventured into the Royal Garden. The first thing I noticed was a huge grand fountain surrounded by all sorts of beautiful and exotic flowers. Sunlight shone majestically through the glass walls making the water sparkle and shine. A wide path, lined with flowers, wound around it and up a small set of stairs to a large open area. In the middle of the upper level was a table with five people seated around it, drinking tea and eating snacks. Amu-san, Rima-san, and Tadase-kun were there. As was the boy I saw across the hall when Tadase-kun was talking to me! I was ecstatic—I would get to talk to him!

There was also another girl, with auburn hair held in pigtails by big red bows. She chewed happily on her snacks, and, honestly, looked a little babyish. She too wore a cape, but hers had a red bow tied on it. In fact, I noticed that Amu-san and I were the only one's there without capes.

Tadase-kun noticed me and called, "Oh, hi, McCarthy-kun. Have a seat." I nodded and took the only empty chair—between Tadase-kun and the girl I didn't recognize. "We just wanted to welcome you to Seiyo Academy. We are the Seiyo Academy Guardians—a sort of special student council for the students. I'm the King's chair, Hotori Tadase. As you know, I'm in your class. Nice to meet you!"

"Hiya, Taylor-kun!" the girl with pigtails cried. "I'm Yuiki Yaya, Ace's chair! Fifth grade!"

"I am Mashiro Rima, Queen's chair. I'm also in your class."

"If you don't remember, my name is Hinamori Amu. Welcome to Seiyo!"

And finally, the most handsome boy in the world. At least, in my mind. But, I haven't met that many handsome boys (yet). "It's nice to meet you. I'm Fujisaki Nagihiko, Jack's chair and a sixth grader too, but I'm in the other class."

"N-n-nice to meet you all," I stuttered.

"If you need help finding anything, you can come here," Tadase-kun explained. "Usually we don't do this for new students, but since you're from America we figured we should help you get used to it here."

"So," Amu-san started, "do you like Seiyo Academy, so far?"

"It's nice. Hard to understand everything, but I hope I'll learn." I replied.

"Oooh," Yaya-san cried, "I would hate to move to a whole new country where they speak a completely different language!"

"Yeah, it must be hard," Rima-san added. "What's America like?"

"Um." I wasn't really sure how to answer that. "It's nice. Very different from Japan."

"I wanna go to America!" Yaya-san whined. "I wanna go!"

"Um, Yaya, didn't you just say it would be hard to move to another country?" Amu-san interrupted her.

"Oh, yeah."

I chuckled. "You guys are so funny!" I smiled to myself—I might have just met some possible friends.

**[P A G E B R E A K]**

When I got home, my mom called, in Japanese, "Welcome home, Taylor-chan! How was school?"

In English, I replied, "good, but I'm sick of Japanese."

This time, my mom used English, too. "I understand. It's hard for you to learn a whole new language."

"Exactly." One thing about my mom, she's really understanding. I mean, other than moving me across the world, she's really great. She doesn't get mad easily and when I'm upset, she just lets me be, unlike the meddling parents I see on TV. I don't think she realized the uniform I had gotten was for guys, but even if she did, she probably would have still let me wear it. It wouldn't hurt me to wear a pair of shorts instead of a skirt, and she understood how hard the move was for me.

Anyway, I kicked off my shoes and ran up to my room. I said I was doing homework, but I needed a break from all this Japanese stuff. I wanted to just curl up with a good, English, book. I crashed in my big beanbag chair and stared out the window, which was right next to it. I suddenly realized how exhausted I was—starting school in another country could wipe a person out. I closed my eyes and started dreaming before I even fell asleep. About Fujisaki Nagihiko, of course.

Sigh, Naghiko-kun. I knew people generally use last names to address their peers in Japan, and it may seem a little odd to call him by his first name, but I really didn't care. Nagihiko was his name and that's what I would call him.

Besides, I can always say it's an American thing.

When I finally fell asleep, I was thinking about Nagihiko-kun. His beautiful golden eyes, his wonderful smile, his long hair that was so black it looked purple. Ah, Nagihiko-kun.

Now, I want to be all romantic and say I had a dream where he swept me up in his arms and carried me off into the sunset, but I didn't. In fact, my dream didn't make an ounce of sense. In it, Hannah Montana was on tour in Japan and I was at her concert, but she was singing the Best of Both Worlds in French. Then, my French teacher from New York showed up and started correcting her. I don't even like Hannah Montana. Or French. I wish I was on a date with Nagihiko-kun to a concert, instead . . . .

Oh well, At least I could see him at school. That was the one think I liked about school. Nagihiko-kun. I mean, sure, I only met him a day before, but he already made my heart pound so loud I swore my friends back in New York could hear it. I guaranteed that I'd get busted as a girl because of something involving my aimless staring into his eyes. But, hey, they were really beautiful. How could I not stare?

**[P A G E B R E A K]**

As I was walking to school the next day, I noticed a familiar pink head up the street. Her face wasn't turned to me, so I couldn't tell for sure, but she looked kinda like she was talking to someone, although no one was there. "Hey! Amu-san!" I called.

She turned around. "Ah, Taylor-kun! Good morning!"

I jogged up to her. "Hi. Do you live nearby?" I asked, in Japanese.

"Yeah, I live right over there." She motioned down the street to an average-sized house two behind us.

"Really? I'm just down the street!"

"That's great, I guess we're neighbors."

"Yeah!" I tried to smile and still look manly. Well, I don't think I looked manly to begin with. I mean, first off, I'm only in sixth grade, so even if I was really a guy I won't look manly. Maybe a better word would've been "boyly". Wait, is that a word? How about "boy-like"?

"Did you get the Japanese homework?" Amu-san asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Not at all. I got straight A's in English at my old school, but I don't understand Japanese that well," I replied. "Did you get it, Amu-chan—oops. Um, can I call you that?" I had been hearing the other Guardians call her that at the meeting last night and it just slipped out.

"Yeah. We are friends, right?" She smiled.

"Yeah!"

**A/N: Review?**


	3. Chapter 4

**A/N:**** I have no excuse for not updating. It was all written, too, I've simply been too lazy to upload it. Anyway, I really hate this chapter. I feel like it takes place way too soon. I kind of wish the major thing in this chapter didn't happen until a lot later on, but I don't have anything to put before it. I mean, I doubt you want tons and tons of filler. Plus, it's short. So, enjoy….**

F O U R;;

Amu-chan and I walked the rest of the way to school together. It was really nice—I finally felt like I had made a friend. When we got there, we met up with the other Guardians—Yaya-chan, Rima-chan, Tadase-kun, and, how could I forget, Nagihiko-kun. I tried my best to talk with them, but Amu-chan was the only one who had really tried to become my friend. Tadase-kun was being pretty nice too, but I sort of felt like he was only doing so because it was his job as the King's Chair.

Amu-chan was telling a story about her little sister, Ami-chan. Apparently, she didn't get much sleep last night because Ami-chan was putting on a "concert". Or, at least trying to. "Hey, Taylor-kun, do you have any siblings?"

"Hm? No, I've always wanted a little sister, though. Or a twin, that would be fun," I replied.

"No, you don't want a little sister," Amu-chan moaned. "Trust me."

"I still think it would be fun to have twin."

"Nagi has a twin!" Yaya-chan cried. "Right? She used to be the Queen's Chair."

"Um, uh, yeah," Nagihiko-kun stuttered. "Mmhmm."

"Really? Is it fun?" I asked—I didn't know he had a twin, I hadn't seen anyone around school who looked like him.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Right now my twin, um, sister, is in Europe studying dance."

"Oh, that's cool. What's her name?"

"Nadeshiko."

"What a pretty name."

"Mm." he laughed nervously. I sort of felt like I was missing something, like there was some secret about Nadeshiko-san he was trying to keep. Tadase-kun's nervous face was similar to Nagihiko-kun's, only not as incredibly cute. Amu-chan, Rima-chan, and Yaya-chan looked completely oblivious to it all, though, so I pretended to be too. Nagihiko-kun couldn't be hiding anything that big that I needed to worry myself with it. He'd tell me when we were married, if it was that important.

I was about to change the subject, for Nagihiko-kun's sake, when the bell rang. "Oh!" I cried. "Time for class!" All six of us ran off to our classrooms.

* * *

That day, and the next one, went by super-fast. Before I knew it, it was the weekend. I had decided to walk around town and maybe meet some neighbors. Now, it probably wasn't smart, but I decided not to wear boy's clothes. I pulled my hair back with a clip and wore some particularly stylish (feminine) clothes. I had bought them right before leaving New York, when I still thought I'd be attending school as a girl. I decided to explore around a different area of town and cross my fingers that no one I knew would be there.

I was leisurely strolling down the street, humming to myself, looking for a cute clothing shop—or, even better, a chocolate shop—when I spotted a familiar long haired head. I panicked, trying to find somewhere to hide from Nagihiko-kun when he turned around.

"Hey, McCarthy-kun?" he called, clearly spotting me, as he came over. He had a confused, and slightly disgusted, look on his face. _Noooooo!_ Wait, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I would have to tell him I was a girl. Then our relationship could get somewhere. Or he'd be repulsed and avoid me forever. "What are you wearing?"

"Um, there's something I gotta tell you." I explained the entire story to him, then finished, "can you not tell anyone else? It'll mean a lot of trouble for me. Just keep this our secret."

"Sure!" He smiled that irresistible smile of his. "I understand!"

"Hm?" I wasn't sure how he understood my gender-bending problems.

"Nothing, nothing. C'mon, let's go, Taylor-chan!" I smiled. Taylor-chan. We were friends.


	4. Chapter 5

**Fish-chan:: It's getting better, and, like I promised, further chapters will have drastic increases in quality and legnth. Also, I'm hoping to update muuuch quicker! **

**F i v e;;**

**

* * *

**

Nagihiko-kun grabbed my hand and pulled me down the street. "I know a great restaurant down this way, you'd probably like it. One of my old friends, he's in the middle school now, showed it to me a while ago."

I felt a thrill run up my spine when my skin connected with his. It was one of the best things I had ever felt- I didn't want him to let go. "Okay!"

When we reached the restaurant-I didn't catch the name of it 'cause it was written in Japanese and I didn't bother to translate it-I was overwhelmed with the delicously comforting smell of fried food. Ah, hamburgers, fries, it was heaven! I had been craving some good ol' fast food for a while, but my mom insisted on eating Japanese cuisine.

"Wow," I sighed, "it smells so good!"

"Yeah," Nagihiko-kun replied, "I figured you'd like an American restaurant. This place is really good, too." I took seat across from Nagihiko-kun at a round table covered in a red-and-white checked tablecloth, as were all the others. The walls were decorated with "Route 66" road signs and various poster from traditional American movies. There was a 60's style bar against the back wall and a man working behind it, chatting happily with customers.

After a waitress took our orders-we each ordered a cheeseburger with fries and a coke. We're so perfect together, we even have the same tastes in food!-Nagihiko-kun opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but closed and whispered, "hide!"

"Huh?" was my response. I turned around and followed his gaze to the door where Amu-chan, Yaya-chan and Rima-chan were entering. "Shoot!" I muttered. "Um . . . ." I looked around, trying to find a hiding space I could get to without the others seeing me.

I eventually ducked under the table, only seconds before they noticed him. "Hey! Nagi!" Yaya-chan called.

"Ah, everyone, hi," I heard Nagihiko-kun reply.

"Nagihiko, I didn't know you knew about this place," Amu-chan said. "Kukai showed it to Yaya, Nadeshiko, and I awhile ago. Yaya, Rima, and I were just shopping and decided to come in here. Did Nadeshiko tell you about it?"

"Um, uh, yeah. She said it was really good," Nagihiko-kun stuttered. Okay, so I wasn't crazy. Whenever the topic of Nadeshiko-san came up, he got all nervous. He was definitely hiding something. Kukai, I assumed, was the old friend in the middle school. Quickly he changed the subject. He said something I didn't quite understand. I mean, I literally didn't know what the words meant. I couldn't quite translate all of what he said. It was something like, "Hey, your Shugo Charas aren't here today." But, what is a "shugo chara" and why would it be with Amu-chan, Yaya-chan, and Rima-chan?

As soon as the words left his mouth, Nagihiko-kun froze. At least his lower body did. I couldn't see his upper body. It was subtle, I doubt the others noticed, but he definitely said something he shouldn't have. Or, rather, something _I_ shouldn't have heard.

Amu-chan didn't notice and replied, "Yeah, apparently Kiseki was holding another one of his Shugo Chara meetings. Didn't Rhythm go?" There are those "shugo chara" words again. And who are Kiseki and Rhythm?

Nagihiko-kun froze again. "I think so. He said he had somewhere to go, but didn't say where."

"Pepe-tan went," Yaya-chan added. "Tan", as far as I could figure, was just a babyish, slang version of "chan". I had no clue who "Pepe" was, though.

"Kusukusu, too," Rima-chan piped up. With every mystery person mentioned, Nagihiko panicked more and more.

I saw his hand appear under the table and make a "come with me" motion. "Um, actually, I just remembered, I got to go. Will you exuse me?"

"See you."

"Bye-bye, Na~gi!"

"Bye!"

Nagihiko-kun got up and left. Amu-chan, Yaya-chan, and Rima-chan turned their attention away from the side of the table where he sat and I knew it was my chance. While they weren't looking, I snuck out from under the table and made a run for it. I dashed around to the other side of the restaurant and kept my back to them, so they probably wouldn't reconize me anyway. I snuck out the door to the street where Nagihiko-kun was waiting.

"Hi, Taylor-chan." he smiled that irresistable smile of his.

"Hi," I greeted him.

"That was close!"

"I'll say. I was afraid they'd see me!"

"Yeah, although, you know, you can trust everyone. All of us Guardians, we can keep your secret. I'm not saying you have to tell Amu-chan and the others, but if they found out, they probably wouldn't give you away," he told me.

"I know," I sighed, "but, I just would feel more comfortable if we kept this between us. Besides, wouldn't they be pretty creeped out?"

"I don't know," Nagihiko-kun responded, not even really talking to me anymore, almost as if it was something he had been thinking about for a while. This time he spoke directly to me. "I found out this big secret of yours, so now I need to tell you a secret of mine, so we're even. But please, don't be creeped out or think I'm some kind of pervert."

I raised my eyebrows. "How bad can it be? You're definitely not worse than I am."

"Hm. Maybe. You see, up until the end of last year, I was like you. I was pretending to be a girl."

* * *

**Sorry, that was crazy short! I wouldn't be surprised if no one was actually enjoying this, I know I wouldn't be -_-**


	5. Chapter 6

**Fish-chan:: Sorry for disappearing off the face of Fanfiction! I want to say I was in a coma so you won't get mad at me, but, actually, I was being lazy/caught up with school stuff. Anyway, I am seriously sorry you guys have to read this. Aside from the horrible writing, there's a lot of problems with the plot (such as how fast I moved everything along). I swear it'll get better, around chapter 10, or so. **

* * *

**S i x;; **

My first thought was _pervert! _Then I remembered what he said about judging him and that I was doing pretty much the same thing as he did. Calmly, making him think I wasn't freaking out on the inside, I asked, "why?"

"Well, you see, my family is very big on Japanese traditions. Especially traditional dancing. And a family tradition is that all the boys are raised as girls to prepare for playing female roles in traditional dances," he explained. "At the end of last school year, I went to study dancing abroad in Europe.

"When I came back, I was allowed to be a boy. However, when I was a girl, I was a Guardian, too. Under the name 'Nadeshiko'." Now it made sense. He always got panicky at the subject of Nadeshiko because they were actually the same person. "I had become very good friends with Amu-chan and the others and I didn't want to tell them the truth in case they thought I was some kind of weirdo, so I made up this story that I was Nadeshiko twin brother."

"Ooh." He wasn't a pervert at all. Besides, I really shouldn't be one to make opinions on the subject. Wasn't I the girl pretending to be a boy? At least he has a reason other than hating skirts. "Does anyone else know?"

"As the King's Chair, Hotori-kun knows, and Rima-chan found out a little a while ago. That's about it."

"Wow." I smiled a huge smile. "I'm really honored that you would share something like that with me." Without even thinking, I pulled him into a big hug.

"Taylor-chan," Nagihiko-kun said, pulling away, "it's getting late, do you have to get home?"

"Oh, yeah, my mom's probably waiting for me. Bye, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Let me walk you home. Where's your house?"

"It's this way." As we strolled down the street, I felt a warm blush spread across my face because Nagihiko-kun had taken my hand. _We're holding hands!_

We didn't talk much, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It felt right. Besides, even if I tried to talk, I probably wouldn't have been able to- I was too darn happy.

When we reach my house, I, unfortunately, had to pull my hand away from his. "This is my house."

"Okay," Nagihiko-kun replied, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye!" I jogged up the steps and inside. "I'm home!"

My mom appeared out of nowhere. "Who was that? A boy! Were you on a date, honey?"

My dad suddenly came in from the kitchen. "What? A boy! You're only in sixth grade! You shouldn't have a boyfriend!"

"Whoa! It wasn't a date." Unfortunately. "He's just a friend from school." Hopefully not for long. "I ran into him while I was out looking around town."

"Do you like him, Taylor?" My mom asked.

I blushed. "Eh? Um, uh, I don't know." Yes, yes, one thousand times yes. "I just met him."

My mom smiled. "I get it."

"I'm gonna go to my room now."

I did so and collapsed on my bed. "Whew," I sighed, "I'm exhausted."

Now, I wish I could say that I didn't have the same stereotypical worries that just about every girl who's ever liked a boy has, but that would be a lie. I couldn't help wonder if he liked me back, if he liked someone else, if I wasn't his type, all that kind of stuff.

Of course, with my situation, I had some worries most girls didn't. I wondered if I creeped him out or if he would be afraid to be around me knowing that I was actually a girl. And how would things go at school tomorrow? Would he be able to keep my secret? I tried to remind myself that he was once in the same situation as me- hopefully he understood.

Still, my biggest worry was that he still wouldn't see me as a girl. I was so un-girly that he'd probably see me in the boy's uniform the next day and automatically think, "No, there's no way that guy's a girl. Must've been a dream."

I sighed. I wished I could be more girly- then there was no way Nagihiko-kun would think I was a boy. Then I wouldn't have even been in the crazy situation I was in- I would have just worn the stupid skirt, no problem.

Before I knew it, it was the next morning. _I fell asleep while I was thinking about Nagihiko-kun last night, _I realized. I rolled over to get out of bed but then felt something hard and round underneath me. _Huh? _I thought. _What's that?_ I climbed out of bed and saw the strangest think in my bed.

An egg.

Yeah, an egg.

It was orange swirled with pink and had a big pink flower on it.

WHAT?


	6. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry I disappeared…feel free to flame me due to my absence…. Here's the next chapter. It's kind of filler-y, sorry. I just needed to introduce Taylor to Ikuto and give her time to freak out. Oh, but I've decided to set a deadline for myself of every other Sunday, so expect a new chapter every two weeks. I really just want to finish this….**

**S e v e n **

Okay, I was officially going crazy. There was no way on earth that I laid an egg. I had obviously been sleep walking and hit my head. Now I was going crazy.

Either that or I'm part bird. Maybe, Dad isn't my real dad—my actual father is a bird. Yes, Mom had a kid with a bird. Duh.

Okay, I am going crazy.

Not knowing what else to do, I slipped the egg into my bag. It was almost time for school; I'd have to take it with me. I mean, what would I do if I left it on my bed and Mom found it? Or, worse, Dad found it? Then Mom would have to tell him all about my bird-ness. I don't want to put her in that kind of awkward situation.

Realizing that I was going to be late, I quickly changed into my uniform and ran downstairs. I grabbed a toaster waffle for breakfast and dashed out the door. "Bye! Love ya!" I called to Mom as I disappeared.

Frazzled and worried about being late, I didn't even notice the boy standing at the end of our walkway. That is, until I crashed right into him. "Ah! I'm so sorry!" I cried, landing on top of him. The boy gave me a strange look, and then I realized I was speaking English. "Gomen nasai!" I corrected myself. After getting up off the ground, I got a better look at him. He was tall, handsome, and looked about high school age. He wore all black. What was someone like him doing in front of _my_ house?

He smirked. Brushing so-black-they're-blue strands of hair out of his eyes, the boy asked a simple question. A question that totally knocked me off my feet. "Do you have any eggs on you?"

I jumped back a few feet. "W-w-why would you ask that?"

"No reason. Can I see your bag?"

"NO! Why?" Now I was afraid he was trying to rob me.

"No reason," he responded.

"What's your name? And don't tell me 'no reason'!" I demanded.

"Feisty," he smirked. "Ikuto. My name is Ikuto." And with that, he gave me a little wave and walked off. "Later."

I stood there, not quite understanding what just happened. I was already having a crazy day and it wasn't even ten A.M. yet. While I stared into space, trying to comprehend what was going on; I heard a voice call, "hey! Taylor-kun!"

Oh, right, Amu-chan lived on my street. "Hi!" I waved to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Just some weird high school student, probably escaped from a mental facility, bothering me," I told her. I jerked my thumb behind me in the direction she just came from. "He went that way."

Amu-chan glanced in the direction of my thumb. "High school student, you said? Bothering you? What did he look like?"

"Um, tall, wearing all black, with hair so black it looked blue."

"Did he have cat ears?"

"Cat ears? Of course not." What kind of question was that?

"Right. I just thought it might have been someone I knew," she explained. "He, uh, sometimes puts fake cat-ears on."

"Yeah . . . ." I nodded uncertainly.

"Just to play around. They're not real or anything, heh, heh," Amu-chan confirmed.

"Okay."

"So! How was your weekend?"

I proceeded to tell Amu-chan an abridged version of my adventure with Nagihiko-kun, until we reached school and immediately spotted Nagihiko-kun himself. "Hey! Nagihiko!" Amu-chan called.

Nagihiko-kun turned around and spotted us. "Oh! Hi, Amu-chan. McCarthy-kun." I swear I saw him wink when he said my name. So it wasn't a dream.

"Hi, Nagihiko-kun." I waved, trying to remain calm as he made his way over to us.

"So," Nagihiko-kun asked, "how're things going?"

"Good, normal, ya know," I answered. It's not like I laid an egg, or anything.

Amu-chan and Nagihiko-kun, however, both turned their attention to a random spot above Amu-chan's shoulder. I thought there might have been a bug, or something, but I didn't see anything. Just an empty patch of air. Amu-chan's face took on a surprised look and, to the air, she gasped, "really?" Turning her attention back to me, Amu-chan asked, "Hey, Taylor-kun, meet us in the Royal Garden again today, okay?"

I nodded feebly. What was going on?

**I hate this story so much…. Well, review!**


	7. Chapter 8

**A/N: Look at me, updating on time like a good little fangirl! :3 I should be reviewing for finals right now, but instead I'm posting on fanfiction! Oops. ^^"**

E i g h t

I went through the rest of the day in a sort of daze, not quite aware of my surroundings. I was so overloaded with mysterious boys and strange eggs that my mental Japanese to English dictionary had shut itself down, and I barely understood a word anyone said to me all day. In fact, I was fairly certain one of the girls in class had asked me what color waffles I liked to eat during math. (Purple, if you're wondering, was my answer.)

After class, Amu-chan came up to me and said what sounded like, "Ikuto, Taylor-kun." _Wait, wasn't that the kid in front of my house's name? What about him? _I thought. It took me a minute to realize that she said _Iko_, meaning "let's go". Right, I was supposed to go to the Royal Garden.

"Eh? 'Kay," I mumbled. I was _so_ not up to this—I just wanted to go home, crash on the couch, and discover that the egg was a figment of my imagination—but I didn't really have a choice. I couldn't just blow the Guardians off, so I followed Amu-chan to the Royal Garden.

"Just sit here," she told me, patting the chair beside hers, "while we wait for everyone else." Slowly, Tadase-kun, Rima-chan, Nagihiko-kun, and Yaya-chan trickled in and the table was full.

"Ah, McCarthy-kun," Tadase-kun said when he noticed me, "what are you doing here?"

"Um, Amu-chan and Nagihiko-kun invited me this morning," I explained.

Tadase-kun raised an eyebrow and Amu-chan responded, "Ran said she sensed a Shugo Egg by Taylor-kun this morning." In my confused state I may have heard her wrong, but it seemed to me as if the egg I laid was a "Shugo Egg", whatever "shugo" meant, and someone named Ran sensed it.

"Really? Does that mean Taylor-kun's a Chara Bearer?" Yaya asked excitedly. What in the world was a "Chara Bearer"?

"Hey, uh, guys, what are you talking about?" I asked nervously. "Did you forget your pills this morning, or something?"

Nagihiko-kun chuckled and shook his head. "I guess we have to explain this all to you, although maybe we should wait until your Chara hatches."

"Okay, what is a Chara?" I demanded. "I'm so confused!"

"A Shugo Chara," Tadase-kun started, "is born from your desires. From the deepest wishes and dreams in your heart."

Oh, great, now I was on some cheesy TV show. "More specifically," Nagihiko-kun continued, "your 'Kokoro no Tamago'." Kokoro no Tamago? In English, that would be . . . Heart's Egg. So now my heart has an egg in it?

"All children have one, they contain their 'would-be-selves', but, sometimes, they're special and are born as Shugo Eggs, which then hatch into Shugo Charas," Rima-chan explained. "Tiny people who represent who you want to be."

I know it sounds crazy, but I actually believed them. I don't know what it was, but something told me it was true. "Okay, so how do you all know about this?"

"You see," Amu-chan answered, "we're all Chara Bearers. You can't see our Shugo Charas yet, because yours hasn't hatched, but you can meet them when yours is hatched. Do you have the egg with you?"

"Um." I had it with me, yes, but I got the feeling I shouldn't show them. I think it was because of how girly the egg was—it was pink and orange with a big flower on it. I'm not sure what kind of guy would want to be anything like that. "Uh, no, I don't, sorry."

"But didn't you have it this morning?" Yaya-chan asked.

"Oh, uh, I lost it."

"What? How could you lose your Chara Egg?" Yaya-chan screeched.

"I'll, uh, go look for it right now," I told them.

"I'll help," Nagihiko-kun offered quickly.

"Thanks." I smiled.

He smiled back.

Rima-chan gave each of us a suspicious look.

**Reviewers get an entire wheel of baked brie (cheese)! Hmm, is it possible to review your own story? I could really go for some brie….**


	8. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! . I know, it's a day late. Don't hate me. I spent all of yesterday at the beach, and then I got back late and was tired and in a bad mood so I didn't update and I'm sorry! **

N i n e

"Okay, so, where did you lose it?" Nagihiko-kun asked when we were outside the majestic garden.

"Right here," I answered, pulling the egg out of my bag and showing him its flowery glory. "I just didn't want anyone to see it."

"Ah, yeah, I understand," Nagihiko-kun said when he saw the feminine egg. "I get it. That'd totally expose you, or, at the very least, scare everyone away. So, we've got some time to kill while we 'look for the egg'. Want to take a walk with me?"

"Hai!" I answered immediately. "I mean, okay, I guess," I corrected myself, stuffing the egg back in its place among my books.

Nagihiko-kun chuckled.

I went to set my bag in the grass, but stumbled backwards when the object we were "looking for" rose out of it, slightly glowing. "Whoa!" I cried.

"It's hatching!" Nagihiko-kun told me as the shell started to crack. The glow died down and a small, cute person emerged.

"Hi!" she cried, in English, "I'm Keira, your Guardian Character!" Guardian Character? That must be the English for Shugo Chara. I was right for not letting the other Guardians see Keira's egg—if they had seen her they'd most definitely know my secret. She had wavy light blonde pigtails, as long as she was tall, held in place with pink flower clips and dyed pink at the ends. Her bangs grazed large, aqua eyes that took up nearly half her face. A little pink heart was painted on her right cheek and she wore an orange bikini top with a pink pleated mini skirt. On one tan leg she wore a green leg warmer, a purple on the other. She was only about three inches tall. All in all, Keira was the total and complete opposite of me.

"Um, hi." I waved.

Keira whipped around to face Nagihiko-kun then introduced herself in perfect Japanese. "Yoroshiku! Atashi wa Keira, Taylor-chan no shugo chara!" Translation: "Nice to meet you! I'm Keira, Taylor's Guardian Character!"

"Hi!" Nagihiko-kun smiled. "I'm Fujisaki Nagihiko."

Keira turned back to me. "Taylor? You look like a guy," she told me.

"Long story," I mumbled. It was then that I noticed another small Guardian Character floating above Nagihiko-kun's shoulder. He had long purple hair, like Nagihiko-kun, and large navy eyes. He wore a sky blue beanie that matched his long sleeved shirt and navy bubble vest. He also wore headphones around his neck and had his hand in the pockets of his tiny jeans. "Hey, where'd you come from?" I asked.

"He's been here the whole time," Nagihiko-kun explained, "you just couldn't see him until Keira hatched. His name is Rhythm."

"Hi, Rhythm."

"Yo!"

"I have another Shugo Chara, Temari, but she's not here right now. I'll have to introduce you sometime."

"Okay!" I agreed, and then glanced down at my watch. "Oh, crap, it's getting late. I've got to go!" I grabbed my bag off the ground then dashed off towards my house. "Bye, Nagihiko-kun!"

"Bye!"

I sprinted down the side walk and a panting Keira quickly caught up. "Whoa, Taylor, slow down!"

"Sorry," I mumbled slowing my pace. "I'm just late. Today has been crazy."

"Yeah, I know. So, is Nagihiko-kun, like, your boyfriend?" the tiny Chara asked.

"W-what? No! Of course not!" I stammered, blushing furiously.

"Mmm hmm." She nodded skeptically.

"He's not! We're just friends." For now.

"Okay, then if he's not your boyfriend, can you explain to me why you're dressed as a boy?"

"If you insist," I sighed, and then told her the entire story, about pretending to be a boy, then Nagihiko-kun finding out, all the way up to when she hatched.

"Okay, that's kinda strange . . ," Keira mumbled as she floated away from me a bit. "I'm going to have to dress up as a boy too then, so none of the other Chara Bearers at your school will se—" she started to say when five pale fingers wrapped around her in a tight grip. The boy from that morning—Ikuto, I think he said was his name—stepped out from behind a tree, his arm connecting to the hand crushing Keira.

"You!" I cried pointing at him. "Let my chara go!"

"Ye—" Keira started to agree when Ikuto tightened his grip, thus cutting off her voice.

"She's ours now~nya!" cried a tiny voice as a little cat-like chara showed himself from behind Ikuto.

"W-w-what? You can't steal my chara!"

"Meet me at the park in half an hour if you ever want to see her again, okay?" Ikuto told me before walking off.

Keira hatched less than an hour ago and I had already lost her. How terrible am I?

* * *

So, not knowing what else to do, I found myself sitting on a park bench half an hour later, waiting for Ikuto and—hopefully—Keira.

Luckily, Ikuto soon appeared and I didn't have to worry for too long. I couldn't see if Keira was with him, but I did notice an unfamiliar girl walking at his side. Soon, the pair stopped in front of me and the girl asked, "This is him?"

She was rather pale, and taller than me. She looked about fourteen-fifteen years old. She was skinny, and her eyes were a beautiful baby blue color that wonderfully complimented her dark hair.

"Yeah." Ikuto nodded.

"He looks like a girl," she observed as if I wasn't right there. Of course, being a girl, I wasn't offended, though I pretended to be.

"Hey!" I cried. "I do not!"

"Sure."

"Okay, who are you? I came here because someone," I looked pointedly at Ikuto, "stole my Guardian Character. What's going on?"

"I'll explain," she offered. "We both work for a company called Easter. My name is Toshane Matsuko and that is Tsukomi Ikuto. Judging by your uniform, you go to Seiyo Elementary, right?"

"Mmmhmm." I had been in such a hurry to get Keira back, I didn't bother to change.

"So you know the Seiyo Elementary Guardians, right?"

"Yeah. I was talking to them earlier today."

"Perfect. Listen, the Guardians are—how should I put this? They're not very . . . good."

"What? No. They seem fairly nice. When my Guardian Egg was born, they took the liberty to explain it all to me," I defended them.

"They're not. They're trying to take over the world," Matsuko told me.

"Um?"

"That Hotori Tadase may seem nice, but he's not. His goal in life is to become king of the world."

"Okay, you must be talking about a different guy or something."

"I'm not. Just listen. Anyway, they're looking for this magicalheart's egg, called the Embryo, which can grant any wish, and plan to use it for world domination. We, however, aren't going to let that happen! The main goal of Easter is to prevent the Guardian's plans by finding the Embryo before them. Ikuto-kun said that you've recently become a character bearer, right?"

"Uh-huh, my Guardian Character hatched only this afternoon; minutes before Ikuto kidnapped it!" I cried angrily.

"I needed to get you here," Ikuto, who had been quiet up until then, explained.

"Great. We were wondering if you could help us get the Embryo before them. Maybe, because you go to school with them, go undercover as a Guardian? Please, you don't want Hotori Tadase to be king of the world, do you?" She asked.

I paused, taking in all this information. Were the Guardians really attempting to . . . take over the world? It seemed so unrealistic. But, then again, a lot of unrealistic things happened to me that day. "I don't know," I responded, "this is all a lot to take in. Can you give me time to think about it?"

"Fine," Matsuko agreed. "Meet me here at the same time tomorrow with your decision." She paused, and then added one more string of words. "If you're not convinced, try calling Tadase-kun 'prince', and see what happens." With that, Matsuko walked away, leaving me alone with Ikuto.

I looked up at him, as he was much taller than me, and I was sitting down. "Can I have my Guardian Character back?" I asked.

"Sure," he answered nonchalantly, taking his fist out from behind his back and freeing Keira from it. "And, don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're a girl."

Keira flew to protection behind my shoulder, clearly glad to be away from Ikuto. My jaw dropped for a second, though I quickly restored my face to a neutral and slightly confused position. "I'm not a girl," I lied.

Ikuto laughed. Yeah, an actually laugh. "What kind of guy has such a girly Guardian Character?"

"A drag queen?" I offered, but he just chuckled some more.

"Whatever. I'll see you around, Taylor_-chan_."

"I'm not a girl!"

* * *

The next day I examined the Guardians more closely. Could they really want world domination? But they seemed so innocent! Tadase-kun was like a fairytale prince, and Yaya-chan was practically a baby. Rima-chan was too doll-like to be evil, and Nagihiko-kun was, well, Nagihiko-kun. 'Nuff said. Amu-chan was the only one who actually looked like she could have a mean bone in her body, but once you got to talk to her, you realized that it was just that—a look.

I couldn't imagine it. But, then again, Ikuto and Matsuko didn't seem like liars. If there's an entire company devoted to bringing down the Guardians, they've got to be a real threat.

"You know, the more I look at him, the more suspicious Nagihiko-kun seems," Keira told me as she rested on my shoulder. We were sitting outside at lunch break, and I was looking at Nagihiko-kun from afar. "I mean, what kind of good guy has such long hair?"

"That doesn't even make sense. Besides, Nagihiko-kun could never be evil!" I immediately defended him. "And his hair is that long because—" I stopped. It was because he pretended to be a girl for the first half of his childhood, and 'Nadeshiko' had long hair. If he ever had to dress like her again, he needed it to be long. But I couldn't tell Keira that—it was Nagi-kun's secret. "Never mind."

Keira raised her eyebrows. "You so like him!" she squealed.

I put a finger over her mouth to silence her. Ignoring what she said, I simply scolded her for acting so girly—she was pretending to be a guy, like me, in order to cover my secret. Keira had replaced her mini-skirt and bikini combo with blue jeans and an orange sweatshirt. The pink heart was washed off her cheek and her long pigtails were hidden under a short blond wig. She looked like a guy and we had decided that the Guardians would know her as Kieran. "If you squeal like that people will know you're a girl!"

"Sorry, but its soo true!"

Out of nowhere, Nagihiko-kun appeared and took a seat beside me on the ground. "Nagihiko-kun!" I cried. "Hi!"

"Hi." He noticed Keira floating above my shoulder and asked, "Is that Keira? She looks a little different!"

I giggled. "Kieran, to everyone else."

"Hi, Kieran." Nagihiko-kun waved and flashed a quick wink. "Kieran" simply stared at him, and I knew exactly what "he" was doing.

"Kieran!" I cried, in English so Nagihiko-kun wouldn't know what I was saying, "Stop that! It's rude. He's not evil!"

"So Ikuto and Matsuko were lying to us?"

"... well, maybe he is. But it's still rude to stare!"

"Whatever!"

"Hm?" Nagihiko-kun cut in. "Sorry, I don't speak English."

"Oh, it's nothing," I answered in Japanese, waving my hand passively. "Never mind. Anyway, what's up?"

"Not much, you just looked lonely, so I decided to join you."

I smiled.

"Oh!" Nagihiko-kun cried, "I almost forgot. Hotori-kun wanted me to invite you to join us at another Guardians' meeting today after school."

Keira gently nudged me with her elbow. I could tell exactly what she was thinking—"Now's your chance. Just say yes, you could easily go undercover! They wouldn't suspect a thing!"

I ignored her, though gave the answer she was hoping for anyway. Not because I wanted to go undercover (before I agreed that, I needed to be sure they were even after world domination. I planned to do as Matsuko said and see what happens when I call Tadase-kun "prince"), but because I simply wanted to spend an extra hour with Nagihiko-kun. And who knows, maybe I could even test them at the meeting. "I'd love to go! It seems like I'm spending tons of time in the Royal Garden with you guys!"

"Ha, yeah," Nagihiko-kun agreed. The bell suddenly rang and he hoisted himself up; ready to head back to class. "See you then!"

"See ya!" I watched his retreating figure shrink until he was no more than a speck in the distance. Was I really going to go to this meeting and test them? What if…what if Ikuto and Matsuko were telling the truth? Could I really turn on Nagihiko-kun and the others?

**I just realized that this story doesn't have a disclaimer…anywhere. I guess writing on sort of implied it, but I OWN NOTHING! Except for Taylor, and Keira, and other OC's. But not Matsuko. Actually, she was created by a user of the Nickelodeon message boards (Yes, that's the site this was originally posted on. Feel free to mock) whose name I forget. If you are here on FF too, feel free to give me your name so I can credit you properly. Sorry I didn't save your name, but I did keep your contest-winning character. **

**Also, I'd just like to thank everyone who reviewed! You guys are amazing and I love you. You all win every volume of a manga of your choice (Just kidding, that'd be alotta manga for me to give out…O.o). But seriously, y'all rock. I'm going to take the time and reply to every review now. So if you reviewed several times (Internet cookie for you!), expect several messages from me! :3**

**That was a long A/N…. I hope you enjoyed the chap…Review? **


	9. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here it is! Late last night I started freaking out because I forgot to update, then I realized it was Saturday and I had all of today to finish the chapter…aren't I the brightest? I know I stated earlier that Rima would know Nagihiko=Nadeshiko despite the fact that this is before she learns that in the canon, but forget I said that. I don't know why that was there and I'm going to edit the chapters and take it out. In fact, it might already be gone...O.o Anyway here ya go. Enjoy~!**

T e n:

Before I knew it, the day had ended and I was standing outside the Royal Garden taking a deep breath. I gripped the door handle and pulled. This was it. I had decided that, no matter what, I would decide during the course of this meeting whose side I would be on. I wanted to say that my loyalty to Nagihiko-kun and the others who had so graciously welcomed me to Japan was infallible, but I wasn't sure if that was true. I couldn't imagine Matsuko and Ikuto telling me such an absurd story unless they were simply being honest. If they were going to lie to me, they'd at least choose a more believable lie.

Slowly, I made my way to the table at which all of the Guardians were already seated. "Konnichiwa, minna-san," I greeted them.

"Hi, McCarthy-kun!" Tadase-kun smiled an ever-so-princely smile. "Take a seat. There's something we'd like to talk to you about."

"Okay…." I gulped. Was I in trouble? Did I do something wrong? Maybe someone told them my secret! Or what if it was about my meeting with Ikuto and Matsuko?

"There's a new program we'd like to start here at Seiyo Elementary for kids with Guardian Characters. A sort of…Guardian Training Program. As Chara Bearers, we want to help guide those who are new to the whole thing, and also train you to be prepared if one of the current Guardians moves away or is unable to fill the position of Guardian. The members would be like our apprentices. We don't have any yet, but we were wondering if you wanted to be the first member," Tadase-kun explained.

I paused a moment, processing what he had just said. "I don't know. What exactly would I be doing?"

"We'll show you things like Chara changing and character transformations, and teach you about all the things we do as Guardians," Amu-chan told me.

"Chara…what?"

She giggled. "Exactly. So, what do you say?"

"Umm…." At that moment, Keira flew from the spot behind me where she had been hovering to right next to my ear.

"Do it!" She whispered in English. "Say yes! It'll be the perfect opportunity to spy on them!"

I sighed. She had a point. And, anyway, even if they were innocent, I really didn't know much about…anything…relating to charas. I could use their help. "Why not?" I shrugged and Yaya-chan cheered.

"Yaaay~! We've got our first Guardian-In-Training!" She paused, and her eyes fixed themselves on Keira. "Heeey, is that your Shugo Chara? What's his name?"

"Oh, yeah, this is, um, Kieran." "Kieran" smiled and waved at everyone.

"Yoroshiku!" "He" greeted them in a voice that was a bit lower than what was natural for the Chara. One by one, the Guardians went around and introduced their charas to the two of us.

"Hey, Nagihiko-kun, didn't you say that you have another chara? Is it here?" I asked once everyone was finished.

"N-no. I was telling you about Temari, _my sister's_ chara."

"Oooh," I said, catching his drift. "It's kind of funny that you both have charas, and you're twins."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Anyway, do I get a cool title like the rest of you guys?" I asked, changing the subject.

"We weren't going to give you one, but if you want, we can come up with something," Tadase-kun offered.

"Nah, it's fine, I was just curious. So, what are all of your titles, again? Nagihiko-kun is the Jack, Amu-chan's the Joker, Yaya-chan's the Ace, Rima-chan's the Queen, and, Tadase-kun, you're the…prince, right?"

The Guardians all gulped collectively. A little gold crown appeared atop Tadase-kun's head, and his Chara (Kiseki, was it?) smirked triumphantly. "Uh, Taylor-kun you shouldn't—" Yaya-chan started to warn me, but was interrupted by Tadase-kun's shouting.

"PRINCE?" He cried, enraged. "PRINCE? I am no mere prince!" He spat the word out as if it were acid on his tongue. "I am the KING! I AM GOING TO BE KING OF THE WORLD!" Tadase-kun continued to laugh in an uncharacteristically maniacal way.

I froze. "W-wait, what?" Were Matsuko and Ikuto telling the truth? Could the Guardians really be trying to take over the world?

"Sorry 'bout him," Nagihiko-kun apologized; ignoring Tadase-kun's laughing. "Whenever someone calls him 'prince' he character changes and gets like that…."

"So, wait, does he really want to take over the world?" I asked. I couldn't believe my eyes or my ears—this was definitely not the Tadase-kun I know.

"Who can say?" Nagihiko-kun shrugged. "A character change is when you take on characteristics of your Guardian Character. So, Kiseki clearly wants world domination, and, I guess Hotori-kun does too, since a Guardian Character is your would-be self."

"Oh my gosh…" I mumbled, feeling fairly light-headed.

"Yeah, it is a bit weird. Just ignore him, and it'll wear off soon." Sure enough, a few moments later, the little crown that had been perched amid his silky blond locks disappeared and he lowered his gaze in embarrassment.

"Sorry 'bout that, McCarthy-kun," he muttered ashamedly. "I can't really control it."

"It's fine!" I waved my hands passively. I admit that I was a little scared of him now, but I didn't let it show.

"So, uh, Taylor-kun, have you done a character change yet?" Amu-chan asked, trying to relieve the tension.

"No, I haven't. I dunno if I want to try now, in front of all of you, in case it's something embarrassing. I'll test it out when I go home today and I'm by myself." In all honesty, I could have predicted that mine would be something incredibly feminine, judging by Keira's original appearance, so I didn't want them to see me like that.

"That's probably a good idea. I remember my first chara change. It was in front of everyone at an assembly, not to mention incredibly embarrassing…." Amu-chan sighed wistfully. "Anyway, do we have anything else we need to do today?"

"Yeah, there's some paperwork to go through," Tadase-kun informed her. "McCarthy-kun, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. It's not going to be much fun for you. We can start with our Guardian Training…tomorrow, maybe? How does that sound?"

"I'm free." Everyone else had already been obligated to attend the Guardian meeting, so they were all free as well.

"Great, see you then."

"Alright, bye! C'mon Kieran, let's go." My chara, who had been previously socializing with the others on the table, flew up next to my shoulder and waved to everyone as we left.

As soon as we were out, she started shouting, at rapid speed, "I told you so, I told you so; I told you so! Did you see that? They're trying to take over the world! We're gonna go help Ikuto and Matsuko then, right?"

"I guess so," I sighed, deflated. I had really hoped that Ikuto was lying. Read: I didn't want to admit that Nagihiko-kun was evil. Maybe Tadase-kun was orchestrating the whole thing and no one else was aware of what they were involved in…? Yeah, just some idiotic wishful thinking.

Following Matsuko's instructions, I immediately made my way to the park bench where she had broken the news to me yesterday. I waited patiently for her arrival.

"Wow, I can't believe that a group of _elementary school_ kids are plotting world domination, not to mention that they're actually a real threat," Keira sighed.

"I know. But, I mean, with access to something like that Embryo Matsuko told me about, I guess it is plausible. They don't need to do any military strategizing or anything—they just have to wish for it. Kind of a scary thought, actually. I mean, everything that is happening in the world now could be the result of a wish from whoever currently possesses it. And that person could be anyone—from an elementary student to an old man. Maybe he's an eskimo living in Alaska who wished to be warmer, and now there's global warming. It's terrifying."

"Yeah." She shuddered.

"Good, you came!" I heard a voice call out, and I looked up to see Matsuko approaching me. She stopped a foot away from the bench.

"Hi. Hey, um, where's Ikuto?" I questioned.

"Oh, doesn't matter. I didn't need his help today. Is that your Chara? He's cute." Keira smiled happily. "So, let's cut to the chase—will you help us out?" Matsuko demanded.

I sighed. There was really only one choice. "Yes, I will."

"Perfect."

**A/N: You like? I hope so! Please review! I was too tired to proofread this chapter, so excuse any typos, ect. By the way, since the earlier chapters were…terrible…I've decided to edit and re-upload some of them (like I previously mentioned). If you so desire, you can reread the new versions. I'll be uploading those randomly, so, yeah. R E V I E W! **


	10. Chapter 11

**A/N: Eeeeeh! , I know, I know, it's short and not much happens. I just didn't have time to write (read: didn't feel like it) these past couple weeks, and I was rushing to finish it tonight. Next week I'm going to Minnesota, where (no offense to any Minnesotians) there's not a whole lot to do. I have a figure skating competition (anyone else gonna be at the ISI Worlds?), but when I'm not on the ice I won't be doing much other than chillin' in the hotel. Anyway, long story short, I'll do lotsa writing, since I'll have my laptop, but not necessarily any WiFi. So, yeah, expect a great chapter next time~!**

**EDIT: Gah! I though I uploaded this two weeks ago! Why is it not up? I did't even notice until I went to upload chapter 12! I apologize profusely-I'll put them both up today as an apology. **

E l e v e n:

"So, the first thing I want you to do is figure out what all their leads are. I need to know where they think the Embryo is, and how they plan on getting it," Matsuko instructed.

"O-okay." I could do that, right? Easy enough.

"Once you figure it out, call me. Here's my number." She tossed me a scrap piece of paper with a series of digits on it. I pocketed it. "I don't expect this information tomorrow, but I need it quickly."

"Alright."

"Well, I'll see you later." Matsuko turned on her heels and disappeared before I could get another word in. I noticed a small chara trailing behind her, but I didn't get a good look of it.

I started to make my way home when none other than Ikuto hopped out of a nearby tree and blocked my path. I noticed he had a long, dark blue tail sticking out from his backside, as well as two blue cat ears nestled in his hair. How did I not notice those before? "Uwahh!" I cried. "Where'd you come from?"

He pointed at the tree. "There."

"_Not_ what I meant! Anyway, what do you want?"

"Don't help Easter," he told me, getting close to my face.

"What, why? Do you want the Guardians to take over the world?" I asked, taking a step back. What was up with this guy? I thought he was with Easter.

"No, if I tell you anything else I'll be in trouble, but, trust me, you don't want to get mixed up with them."

"They're bad, nya~!" His chara chimed in.

"I can't say anything else, but just avoid Easter." With that, he gave me a little wave and walked away, leaving me even more confused than I was before.

"What is up with that guy?" I asked aloud, to no one in particular.

"I dunno," Keira mused, "but he's pretty hot."

"What? No he's not! He's creepy." Even so, a small part of me agreed with her. "C'mon, let's go home."

* * *

I made my way into school the next day feeling prepared. The Guardians trusted me—I would be able to easily get any leads out of them. The only problem was that I wasn't supposed to know anything about the Embryo—somehow I'd have to get the Guardians themselves to bring it up.

I walked to my desk calmly and sat down beside Amu-chan, who was already there. "Hi," I greeted her, "What's up?"

She shrugged. "Not much. You're still coming today for the training, right?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, "definitely."

"Great, Tadase-kun wanted me specifically to work with you on something, okay?"

"Sure. What're we doing?"

"You'll see." She winked, before turning her attention to Nikaido-sensei.

Keira buzzed around my head. "Ooh, I wonder what you guys are gonna be doing. Maybe I'll get to chara change with you!"

I shook my head. "Hopefully not. Then everyone'll know my secret." I made sure to duck my head and whisper very quietly so no one could tell I was talking "to myself", and Amu-chan couldn't hear me mention my secret.

"Gaah!" Keira sighed. "Why does it matter? Just tell 'em! I doubt they'll care."

"Still, what if it spreads around and everyone finds out?"

"Please, no one'll believe them. You make a pretty convincing boy."

"Oh, thanks."

"Seriously, though. This wig is itchy. I don't wanna keep wearing it. Just tell them the truth!" she whined.

"Nuh-uh. I can't."

She rolled he eyes before flying over to join Amu-chan's charas. Amu-chan, for whatever reason, had three. I was not jealous at all—one Keira was plenty enough for me.

I glanced up to Nikaido-sensei for a moment—it seemed he was looking at our charas, but I knew he couldn't have been—only chara bearers can see them, and he's an adult, so he couldn't have one. Right?

As soon as he saw I saw him, he turned away from the charas and cleared his throat. "Okay, class, good morning. I've graded your Japanese tests from last week—I'll start handing those back." He threaded through the room, dropping papers on desks. Some kids received theirs with utter glee, while others were crushed. The rest of us sat nervously, wondering which group we'd end up in.

I, of course, knew I had done terrible. The test was on vocab and, sadly, I barely had the Japanese vocabulary of a kindergartener. I didn't even know the English translation of any of the words, much less what it actually meant. For the most part, I guessed wildly and wrote generic definitions that could fit a wide spectrum of words.

At least in America, I could sound out the words and guess based on what they sounded like. However, in Japan, I didn't even know how to sound them out. They were all written in kanji, and I had no clue how to figure it out. Why do the Japanese need _three_ alphabets? Is one just not good enough? Can't they have one set of characters, all with their own distinct, unchanging, sounds? Why is it not ONLY Hiragana, or ONLY Katakana? Even better yet, just stick to the good 'ole Latin alphabet.

I squirmed with suspense until Nikaido-sensei finally reached my desk. Avoiding my eyes, he dropped the paper on my desk before moving on. I gulped. The rest of his face was expressionless, but I knew it couldn't be a good sign. I finally dared to look at the red number scrawled on the top and immediately wished I hadn't. I had failed—utterly failed. I got a thirty-nine percent—that was the lowest grade I had ever gotten—_ever. _

"Hey," Amu-chan whispered, "how'd you do?"

I showed her the paper.

"Oooh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I shrugged. "I'm just having trouble with my Japanese—especially kanji. If this test was in English I would have done a lot better."

"I'd offer to help you, but I didn't do so well myself." Amu-chan showed me a paper displaying a grade just above failing. "Y'know, Nagihiko-kun and Tadase-kun are both good students—maybe you could ask one of them." I squealed inside at the thought of having an excuse to spend more time with Nagihiko-kun, even if he was possibly evil.

"Yeah, I guess I'll ask Nagihiko-kun today after school."

Keira raised her eyebrows suggestively at me (luckily none of the others saw), and I gave her a look that said, "Quit it!"

**A/N: I'm not gonna ask you to review that short little thing, but I highly suggest reading my rewrites of the earlier ones. I'm changing some (minor) details so I'd recommend reading it. By the way, the idea of Nagihiko tutoring Taylor is courtesy of NekoMimi03! Thank you! **


	11. Chapter 12

**A/N: What is this? She's an entire day early? Blasphemy! Burn the witch, burn her! **

**Well, see, I'm leaving to go to a place on Sunday, so instead I'm posting (at about 1:50 AM) on Saturday, since I won't have time on Sunday. Also, you know how I said last time that this chapter would be great since I'd spend a week with nothing to do in Minnesota at a figure skating cometition? Well, it turns out, I lied. I ended up having more events than I thought, and I spent a lot of time at the rink watching other people skate, or drawing, or reading, or swimming in the hotel pool, or not writing. So instead I rushed to finish this for the past few hours and ended up with less than 1,000 words of filler. Sorrrrry~! It's not TOTAL filler, but it seems like it. And, one more piece of disappointing news before I end this absurdly long author's note: I will be on several vacations for the next few weeks and the next chapter will not be up until September 3. Sorry~! I'll try to make it enjoyable and long and I might even throw in some fluff! I feel like I need to say something else but I can't remember what…. Well, enjoy! Or, at least, try to!**

T w e l v e;

The rest of the day wasn't very monumental, and I was soon off to the training session. "Okay," Amu-chan was telling me, "We just have to let the other Guardians know we're here, and then we can get started."

"Alright."

We quickly popped our heads into the Royal Garden, before Amu-chan took me out to a big empty field. "I'm going to teach you about X-Eggs."

"Um, okay. What are 'X-Eggs'?"

"Well, you remember the Heart's Egg your Guardian Character was born from, right? Everyone has one, even non-chara bearers. Usually they're just invisible and dormant, but sometimes they're born as Guardian Characters, as you know. However, when a kid gets discouraged and gives up on their dreams, they can also be born as X-Eggs. If these eggs hatch into X-Characters, they'll cause chaos and, overall, bad things," Amu-chan explained.

"Got it. Do we have to destroy them before they hatch?" I guessed.

"No, definitely not. It's my job to purify them, and return them to normal Heart's Eggs, since I'm the Joker."

"How do you do that? Are you going to teach me?" I questioned. Since any one of the Guardians could move away at any time, I figured I'd have to know all their jobs.

"You aren't going to be able to do it, but I'm going to show you anyway, so you understand the process. If you ever find an X-Egg, you'll just have to bring it to me and I'll take care of it. When I do what's known as a Character Transformation, I can use something called 'Open Heart' to purify them. Character Transformation is difficult, and it took the other Guardians a while to learn how, so I don't expect you to learn that. Anyway, I'm the only one who can purify X-Eggs. Just watch, okay?"

"Okay…" I agreed warily. I could barely remember everything she said—Character Transformation? Open Heart? It was all a strange language to me (well, yeah, she _did_ say it in Japanese, so that might be part of it, but still. Even in English I would have been confused).

"Ran, let's go!" She called to one of her charas, who was decked out in a pink cheerleading outfit. "My heart, unlock!" She positioned her forefingers and thumbs in a box around a lock she wore on a chain around her neck and then flipped the box, so the hand she had on the bottom was on the top and vice-versa.

She was soon engulfed in a pink sparkly light. Ran returned to her egg, and the egg merged with Amu-chan's heart. She was suddenly wearing a bigger version of Ran's cheerleading outfit. The light died down and she cried, "Character Transformation, Amulet Heart!" Relaxing from her pose, Amu-chan continued, "So, yeah, that's a Character Transformation. Do you guys sense any X-Eggs nearby?" She aimed her question at the charas.

"Yeah," another one of her charas, whose name was Miki, piped up, "it's that way!" She pointed to the north.

"Alright! C'mon, Taylor-kun, I'm gonna show you how to catch an X-Egg!" We ran in the direction Miki pointed. Quite quickly, we came upon a floating egg that was all black with a white X on it. It mumbled "muri", which is Japanese for "impossible" or "useless", and the X was facing slightly away from us, as if the egg couldn't "see" us. "Ready? I'm gonna show you how I purify X-Eggs, now."

"Okay…."

"Open Heart!" she cried, making a heart with her fingers and pushing it outward towards the egg. By the time the egg realized we were there, it was being immersed in a sparkly light, like the one which surrounded Amu-chan when she character transformed, and the X disappeared. It became white with a gold wing design on it. It floated away, presumably to return to its owner. "See? That's how it's done. So, if you ever run into one, just Character Change and get it to me. Don't try to destroy it or anything, got it?"

"Yup. Say, um, how do I Character Change?" I asked. I was a bit nervous doing so would expose me, but I really wanted to know.

"That's tomorrow's lesson. Actually, I don't know who you're even going to working be with tomorrow; we should go back to the Royal Garden and ask."

We trekked back to the glass dome and soon joined the others. "Hey guys!" Amu-chan and I both waved to everyone.

"Hi!" they chorused.

"So, who's going to be working with Taylor-kun tomorrow?" Amu-chan inquired.

"I think I was going to, is that okay?" Nagihiko-kun spoke up. _Oh, yes, it is more than okay._ _In fact, it's perfect._ Not only would he be the only one to see my inevitably girly Character Change, it meant more time with Nagihiko-kun. Which is always good. I didn't care if he was evil—he was so handsome and just being in the same room as him sent little flutters up my spine. I couldn't imagine how amazing spending an hour with _just him_ would be.

"Yeah, he was wondering. So, I guess we're done for the day, Taylor-kun." Amu-chan told me.

"Great. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Oh! Before I forget, Nagihiko-kun, Amu-chan tells me you do well in Japanese. After training tomorrow or something, is there a chance you could, maybe, tutor me? If it's not too much of a bother. I'm just having a little trouble."

"I'd be happy to."

_Squeeee~! _

Oh, gosh, I think Keira's rubbing off on me.

**Ahh, yeah. I'll try to make the next chapter longer and more substantial! Also, I think Amu was a little OOC in this one, but it's so late that I just wanna post it. Reviewsies? Even criticism is okay!**


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